Happy New Year, folks! The Hotel is settling into the New Year with little fanfare. Mr Bennet remains at his post behind the hotel desk and helps check guests in and out daily. The Hotel continues to hustle and bustle and nothing seems to be going too awry beyond the usual shenanigans. In fact, one might even call this the slow season for the Hotel.
THE FLOOR IS LAVA
That is until the second week of the month where the intercoms start with Mr Bennet's pleasant voice coming through.
"Hello, hello! This is just a small warning that one of our floors, the current 79th floor to be exact, has had a small... malfunction, I suppose, and will be affecting the other floors of the Hotel. No word yet from maintenance when this will be over, so stay on your toes, my dear guests!"
And that's it. No indication of what the problem is, or anything like that. It's up to you to figure out what's going on! And what is going on? Well, it'll become obvious very quickly when wherever characters happen to be in the Hotel, they'll soon start feeling a very obvious warmth on the floor below them. It'll increase the longer they stay standing in one spot until it's almost burning their feet.
The only salve for this will be hopping onto a nearby piece of furniture and getting their feet off the floor. It'll soon become obvious that the entire Hotel has been wrapped in a game of The Floor is Lava, including the floor turning into actual lava on some of the floors.
SAFETY SLEEPOVER
Of course, the Hotel is not cruel enough to make the entire Hotel unsafe and soon enough Mr Bennet's voice will come through on the intercom again.
"For those looking for respite from our current Hotel wide game," because clearly it's a game now. "We'll be serving tea and cake in the lounge on the ground floor. Maintenance has been able to fix the lounge for now so feel free to come by when you can if you'd like to rest. We have sleeping bags!"
As folks enter the lounge, they'll find that Mr Bennet is true to his word. The lounge has been converted into a giant sleepover, with sleeping bags lining the floor and a long table off to the side where people can eat their tea and cakes. Mr Bennet is near the food table, handing out pajamas, toothbrushes, and sleep masks to those who request them. There's some new doors off to the side leading to some restrooms, at least, so guests can change in private.
Though, one thing to point out is when Mr Bennet says there's tea and cakes, the cakes happen to be lava cakes. He thinks he's funny.
THE FLOOR IS ICE
It'll take about two days for hotel maintenance to fix the Hotel and return it to normal. So that's two days of living out of the lounge or hopping around the Hotel to get places. What a headache. Mr Bennet will make another lively announcement on the intercom.
"We are back in business, folks! I've just been given word that everything should have return to normal now. Though, there is a warning to make sure not to walk around barefoot for at least another day or so while the Hotel settles. Thank you for your patience!"
What that means becomes obvious soon as anyone walking around now will feel that the floor is especially cold. That's a bit better than the heat, at least, but still kind of a pain in the ass. Anyone who tries to walk around barefoot will find that their feet quickly start to freeze but any permanent damage is easily avoidable by putting on some socks or getting off the floor entirely.
Though that said, the ice does lead to some furniture sliding around and even with shoes on, characters might find themselves sliding too.
What a lovely end to the holidays.
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caelumstaff) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
hotelcaelum2024-01-12 09:44 am
no subject
Henry has his pride. It flares and recedes like anyone else's, often dependent on several variables. Whether he's being forced to do something he doesn't like, whether or not he feels in control, just how much his anger has spiked-
But he's also something of a survivor. Stubborn, and agitated at this hotel and its floor of churning lava than any of the guests at the moment. Not dying feels like an act of indignant defiance. And so-]
Can I trust you not to drop me?
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I am strong enough to carry you, if that is what you are asking.
[ if she drops him it won't be because of anything on her end physically— ]
But yes. Why would I drop you?
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Looks can be deceiving, though. He knows that well.]
Because I don't know you from Adam. But if you're confident, then I'm not stupid enough to refuse your offer.
[Everything is an Effort, now, and he would rather get this over with.]
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Oho, how clever of you. But in the same vein, I do not know that you are not going to just telekinetically throw me into the lava after you get what you want, no? It is a risk for both of us.
But a risk we have to calculate for, no? I am Clara. And you are?
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I wouldn't do that for no reason.
[The "for no reason" is indeed a very important qualifier, but Henry is telling the truth in this case. What sense would that make? He's put such an effort into aligning himself amicably with the other guests in case their acquaintanceship becomes useful -- such as now. There's no logical sense in gaining someone's help, only to throw them under he bus immediately after.
Or in the lava.]
Henry. [A clipped introduction at best.] Then let's take that risk.
[HE DOESN'T WANNA BE HERE IN THIS LAVA ROOM ANYMORE!!!]
no subject
Yes, let's.
[ Clara drifts over towards him, then, this time without the pretense of walking on some kind of invisible platform, before she draws her hands out of the pockets of her trousers. ]
I will be picking you up now, Henry.
[ Aaaaaand uppies! Scooping him up in a bridal carry with a strength that seems incongruent with her appearance. ]
no subject
Anyway. Henry's pride is in no position to balk--at least not right now, anyway--and sorry if he's super sticky from sweat when she lifts him up to carry him over the lava. Just like that, they're floating. Picked up like he weighs nothing.]
What am I dealing with? [And perhaps he's in no position to fling questions at her, either. But. He does anyway, because it's either that or focus on how miserable he feels in this room.] Someone else who knows magic?
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But it's nothing that a nice bath (for her) can't fix once she's dumped him wherever he needs to go, or maybe a cold shower (also for her) since - despite her calm demeanor at this all - it is rather uncomfortably hot. Still, away they go, with Clara bringing them towards the elevator, sailing over the bubbling lava as high up as the ceiling will allow them to.
At his question does she, for once, look a bit surprised. It flicks across her features so briefly, and presses her lips into a thin line. Habits formed over centuries spent in hiding bid her to lie, at the very least by omission, but she doesn't have to hide what she is, here. She had told Nico that she wouldn't run around just professing this to people (as she suspects he has been) but... Well, since Henry asked— ]
Someone who inherited these abilities from a vampire parent.
no subject
But it's still sticky, and hot, and gross, admittedly. The wave of heat subsides somewhat when she lifts them up, and up, and up, as high as they can go, and the sensation is not so much distracting as it is a faint relief that he nearly doesn't catch the glance of surprise over her features.
Nearly.
Maybe she's not used to people asking her such a thing. But any desire to be delicate about his curiosity is overridden by literally everything else happening right now.]
Vampires? We have those now, too? [lol]
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At least one and a half, yes.
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A moment of silence, and one might wonder if it's because the heat's finally got to him. That he hasn't much energy for a retort or a follow-up question.
But nope, he was just stringing a few connections in his head. Quite abruptly-]
Have you bitten anyone?
[Does a half-vampire bite people? He doesn't know.]
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Clara doesn't seem offended by the question, though, instead huffing a laugh - which he can surely feel, cradled like a babe in her arms as he is... ]
No. Are you volunteering?
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His lips do pull into a thin frown.]
No.
[He's asking because-]
But I think I've seen something that could pass as a vampire bite lately.
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[ she's legitimately wondering if he saw Figue's neck or something ]
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A wizard here, her name's Sprezzatura.
[sorry for putting your shit on blast, ma'am]
She didn't say anything about vampires, but the wound...
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[ who could it be.....?? A mystery. ]
Or perhaps this Sprezzatura was bitten by another manner of creature with pronounced canines. Who knows? I do not.
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Well, it seems this woman has little else to give him, and anything more would be speculation at this rate. So Henry files this information away at the back of his mind to unearth again later.]
We'll see.
[Ominous? Who can tell! He leaves it at that -- how's that trip to the elevator?]
no subject
In any case, the trip is going rather well. The floor may be literal lava, but at least the whole place isn't burning down and falling apart around them. Even if, shortly, Clara must swerve a little from a glob of molten rock dripping down... perhaps from lava seeping down from the floor above them? ]
Oho... It looks like I found you just in time, Henry.
[ But hey, now they're at the elevator! She hovers by the buttons to call them, but uh, her hands are full. She nods her head towards them. ]
If you please.